BG 13:21 – The amazing game of prakruti

The Brahman that is attributeless, passive, a pauper (without any wealth) and alone; it is tattered and is older than the oldest object in this world; and the surname of that Brahman is purush. Otherwise, we can’t say for sure whether it is a female or a eunuch. It does not have eyes, ears, hands, legs, colour or name. Arjuna, this is a husband that does not have any organs and yet, it has to experience pains and pleasures. Even though that husband is actionless, passive and not interested in enjoying, his devoted wife, prakruti, makes him enjoy. This prakruti puts up an amazing show by means of her attributes. That is why this prakruti is called “gunamayi” (having attributes); in fact, prakruti is attributes personified. She is new every moment and has form and attributes; and she uses her skills to make even non-moving objects perform actions. She is the cause for the activities of name, organs and attachment. Actually speaking, mind is a eunuch; but even then, prakruti makes it roam around the three worlds. Thus prakruti is astonishing.

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She is an island of illusion; she expands on her own and can produce vikaaras (mental ups and downs) without any limit. She is like a creeper of desire and vasant rutu (spring season) for the garden of moha (attraction to wrong things). She is famous as divine illusion. She is the growth of wordy scriptures and gives form to the formless. She is always creating prapanch. All the arts have arisen from her and all the knowledge also has been created by her. She has also produced desire, dnyana and action. She is a mint of addiction; she is the dwelling of miracle. In fact, she is the one that plays all the games. The creation and destruction of the world are her mornings and evenings. She entices the whole world. She is another form of non-duality; she is the companion of detached; and she dwells in shoonya (unmanifest). Such is her great reputation and hence she is able to rein in the uncontrollable Brahman. In fact, Brahman has no viakaaras (ups and downs); but prakruti herself becomes vikaaras in Brahman. She becomes the creation for the Brahman which is beginningless; she becomes the form, state and location for the formless. She becomes the desire of the desireless, satiation of the perfect and caste of the casteless. She becomes signs of the indescribable, measure of the limitless and mind and intellect of the one without mind. She becomes the form of the formless, activity of the actionless and ego of the egoless. She becomes the name of the nameless, birth of the birthless and action herself. She becomes attributes of the attributeless, legs of the legless, ears of the earless and eyes of the eyeless. She becomes emotions of the emotionless, organs of the organless; in fact, prakruti becomes all the vikaaras of the purush. Thus prakruti brings the passive Brahman under the influence of vikaaras by means of her powers. Like the moon loses its shine on the moonless night, brahman’s effulgence is of no use before this prakruti. When we mix an inferior metal with the purest gold, the entire gold is assessed as inferior. Or, a gentleman visiting a haunted place in the evening comes under the spell. Or, clouds come into the clear afternoon sky and turn a bright day into a dark one. Like a cow has milk inside her body or a piece of wood has fire inside; or, the effulgence of an excellent precious stone does not come out when it is wrapped in a piece of cloth. When a king is vanquished or a lion falls sick, they lose their shine. Similarly, when the purush comes under the control of prakruti, he loses his shine. Like sleep causes a man to experience all the pains and pleasures in a dream; similarly, purush has to experience the gunas because he comes under the influence of prakruti. Like even a passive man coming under the influence of a woman goes crazy after her. Similarly, though Brahman is birthless and eternal, when it comes under the influence of prakruti and gets attached to gunas, it has to bear the strikes of birth and death. But, Arjuna, this is like people saying that when a heated piece of iron is hammered, the hammer is striking the fire. Or, when water is disturbed, the reflection of the moon in it appears to have split into many; and people imagine that there are many moons. When we look into a mirror, we see to faces; or, when a crystal is placed on kumkum (red vermillion), the crystal appears red. Similarly, the birthless purush appears to be getting born by associating with gunas; but actually, it is not so. Purush seems like being born in good and bad species; but like a sanyasi seeing in his dream that he is born in an low caste, it is merely an illusion. So, the purush does not have to experience birth and death but it appears so. All this is caused by the association with the gunas of prakruti.

Footnote :

Continuing with English translation of the great Sant Shri Dnyaneshwar’s commentary on Shrimad Bhagawad Geeta (BG) titled Bhavarthdeepika in Marathi and commonly known in Maharashtra as Shri Dnyaneshwari. This is the 214th post.

(The English translation is based on the prose rendering in Marathi of Shri Dnyaneshwari by Rev. Nanamaharaj Saakhare.)

Bhagawad Geeta verse 13:21

पुरुष: प्रकृतिस्थ- ोहि भुङ्क्ते प्रकृतिजान- ्‌ गुणान्‌।

का- रणं गुणसंगोऽस्- य सदसद्योनिज- न्मसु॥

Literal Meaning : - -

Purush engages in union with prakruti and enjoys the gunas (attributes) of prakruti; and this contact with gunas is what is the cause for good or bad birth (life).